Where the Memories Lie Read Online Free PDF

researched that yet?’
    ‘No, but that’s a good point, Mum.’ She scribbled that down.
    ‘Yes, I make them occasionally.’
    ‘Shouldn’t they have a second chance to become educated
    in prison and change so they could start a new life when they’re
    released?’
    ‘Not everyone deserves a second chance.’
    ‘What if the person was innocent, though, and they got the
    death penalty and were executed? Then you would’ve killed an
    innocent person.’ She sat back smugly and crossed her arms. ‘That
    wouldn’t be justice, would it? We’d be as bad as they were for
    supposedly murdering someone.’
    ‘Do you want a delivery pizza for dinner?’ I changed the subject,
    not really wanting to talk about death anymore. It made me think
    of what Tom had said again, and I wanted to get it out of my head
    because there was no way it could possibly be true.
    The guilt of not providing a healthy, home-cooked meal like
    Nadia would be doing right now was cancelled out by the excitement
    on Anna’s face.
    ‘Yeah!’ Her eyes lit up. ‘Ham and mushroom?’
    ‘If you like.’
    22
    Where the Memories Lie
    I ordered the pizza, fed Poppy and poured myself a large glass of
    something Australian, fruity and red. Ethan knew all about differ-
    ent kinds of wine. I just knew about drinking it. Pulling up a stool, I sat next to Anna and stared into space.
    ‘What do you think?’ she asked a few minutes later, popping
    the cap back on her marker pen.
    ‘Pardon?’
    ‘Weren’t you listening?’
    ‘Um . . . sorry, I was miles away.’
    ‘About penicillin?’
    ‘I know all about penicillin. What about it?’ I said, thinking
    back to my medical training.
    ‘No, it’s OK. That would be cheating if I asked you. I’m going
    to do some research on the Internet about it.’ She slid off the stool, tidying her books into a neat pile. ‘I’ve just started doing the history of medicine.’
    Conscientious to a fault, my daughter. I wondered how long
    it would be before it all went wrong. Before she locked herself in
    her room and only came out to eat. Before the only response I’d get from her would be a monosyllabic grunt. When she wouldn’t want
    to be seen dead in public with me or Ethan, and would take the
    advice of her friends over her parents. Before she stayed up all night partying and slept all day. I dreaded the thought of when it would
    all change. I didn’t like change.
    Later, I was on my third glass of wine, staring through
    the window of the kitchen into the dark woods behind, when the
    phone rang.
    ‘I’ll get it!’ Anna shouted from the lounge and picked up the
    wireless phone. ‘Dad!’
    I heard her chatting and laughing with Ethan but I couldn’t
    make out what they were saying. I was too busy deciding how to
    23
    Sibel Hodge
    broach the subject of what Tom had said. In between swigs of wine I chewed on the skin at the side of my thumbnail until I drew blood.
    Fifteen minutes later, Anna padded gracefully into the kitchen
    like a dancer, all skinny long limbs and perfect posture. Not like some of the kids in her class who slouched all over the place. I wanted to tell them they’d end up with neck and shoulder problems later in
    life. She handed me the phone and padded out again.
    ‘Hi, sexy,’ I said to him, watching Anna’s retreating back.
    Anna glanced over her shoulder and pulled a face at the word
    ‘sexy’, miming sticking her fingers down her throat.
    ‘Hi, darling. How’s everything going?’
    ‘I’m going to take this upstairs.’ I slid off the stool, picked up
    my wine and went up to our bedroom, shutting the door firmly.
    ‘Oh, sounds ominous. What’s Anna been up to that you don’t
    want her to hear? Did she get caught shoplifting? Or try to get
    served at the Kings’ Arms with a fake ID?’
    I laughed but it sounded flat. ‘No, it’s nothing to do with Anna.
    It’s Tom.’
    ‘Dad? Why? What’s happened?’ His voice rose with concern.
    I lay on my side on our king-sized